STP S3 E1: <Insert 45 minute riff from the TNG Soundtrack>

I just finished the first episode of Star Trek Picard season 3 and I keep coming back to the same thought:

The best way to watch season 3 is to fully and wholly forget the first two seasons happened. Just start here. Picard is an old, dottering retired Admiral who forgets things. Riker is an old, aching Captain trying too hard to recapture the fun of his Wild Hogs years. Seven is stuck in Starfleet middle-management hell as XO to a by-the-book wet blanket — Captain Shaw, who is also lowkey racist against ex-Borgs. Also, Raffi has…